US Patent 7276565 Continuous miniemulsion polymerization process

A process including:heating to a first polymerization temperature a first mixture including a free radical polymerizable monomer, a free radical initiator, and a stable free radical compound to polymerize only a portion of the monomer, resulting in a prepolymer composition;shearing a second mixture including the prepolymer composition, a continuous phase liquid, and a stabilizing compound to create a miniemulsion; andflowing the miniemulsion within a polymerization reactor and heating the miniemulsion at a second polymerization temperature to form polymeric particles wherein the formation of the polymeric particles occurs while the miniemulsion flows within the reactor.